


Red Isn’t Violence: Pink Is

by Dimonds456



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon), Steven Universe Future (Cartoon)
Genre: Other, SUF spoilers, Steven Universe Future Spoilers, Steven Universe spoilers, some violence, su spoilers, tw self-destructive thoughts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:41:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23305474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dimonds456/pseuds/Dimonds456
Summary: Steven is out of control. After certain... events lead him into an even more muddled mindset than he already had, can the gems stop him before he causes too much damage? Is it too late?This is a Corrupted Steven fic, taking place after Homeworld Bound, although it was written before the ep aired. It still works, though!Enjoy!
Relationships: Connverse, Steven Universe/Connie Maheswaran, Steven x Connie - Relationship
Comments: 8
Kudos: 60





	1. Anger

**Author's Note:**

> I have loved this theory ever since I first heard it. At first, I thought it was cool, but as Future went on, the more I realized how serious it was. I even made a video on my YouTube channel covering 8 different possibilities towards his corruption. All of them had been wrong (lol), but I think it’s undeniable who that big wörm really is.
> 
> How did he get to that point, though?
> 
> Hope y’all enjoy! I have a few chapters written so far, so let’s see where this goes!

Anger had a way of bringing out the extremes in someone. Anger fueled determination, and competitiveness, and oftentimes could be the key to strengthening relationships with people. It was funny like that, as everyone always seemed to think of anger as a negative emotion. But, was it really?

Reds and blacks were often associated with the emotion, causing people to cringe or turn away. The hotter the anger, the brighter the red. But, wasn’t red essential? The blood that coursed through veins? The color of Rubies and Rutiles? A primary color? If red was anger, then why did baseball teams wear it on their shirts?

Red wasn’t evil. Anger wasn’t evil. Anger was a way to vent, or to fuel yourself into doing amazing things. Anger was a fire; the circumstances were the fuel.

And for most of Steven’s life, the fuel had been good things.

True, his childhood was a little… messed up. But he’d never been angry about it before. He had his family, his friends, his supports, and his accomplishments backing him up, raising the boy up to incredible heights. For him, anger had come in the form of determination and the urge to protect. To shield. His fuel had been everything positive.

But what Steven tended to forget about colors…

Pink was technically a shade of red. But not.

Pink was where his anger really had first appeared. It glowed from his skin, emanated from him in waves. At first, it had just been his gem, but then that turned into a problem once he realized what that gem was, and what being the owner of it meant. Pink’s past, Rose’s mistakes… it was all a giant shade of pink.

So when Steven went into a blind rage, he didn’t see “red” as all the fantasy books he read described.

He saw pink.

And that color was really starting to bug him.

It was all anyone _ever_ talked about, all anyone _ever_ compared him to, and now, it was the one thing that he saw in himself. His humanity was gone. He didn’t want to be a gem. He didn’t know what he wanted. For it to stop? But, if it did, who even was he anymore?

His entire life was built on the color pink.

It had always been a matter of time before the anger that cursed color instilled caught up with him.

He had nearly killed his dad in a car crash. He had _actually killed_ Jasper in a fight out in the woods. He had taken control of White, all because he was angry _all the time._ Everywhere he turned, he just found out something else about his mother or his past or other’s pasts that involved his mother, and it all just made him so… _so ANGRY._ Pink this, Pink that, everywhere he turned it was nothing but pink, pink, pink!

Until that day when it became literal.

_“I help people, I-I don’t hurt them!”_

The words stung Steven’s mind. Just the fact that he had to say that aloud spoke in volumes all on its own. It’s all he’d ever done in his life. Who was he without something to fix?

Pink, that’s what. The color pink. And, perhaps, maybe the Diamond, too.

After all, only a Diamond would shatter someone.

Pink was all he could see. He was literally becoming everything he had fought against for so long. Everything he believed in had been thrown out the window. There was no going back from this. From _any_ of this.

All his life, he’d just gotten worse. He hadn’t realized how horrible his living conditions were until yesterday, and now he had finally realized that there was no one left to turn to. He had hurt everyone he loved beyond repair.

He was a monster.

He sure as all heck felt like one.

And somewhere, in the back of his mind, he heard a voice say “So, I might as well _be_ one.”

Maybe that was how Steven would explain the chaos before him. If he ever got the chance to do so.

Pink flames lifted up into the sky, reaching up towards Homeworld. They climbed up buildings, charred the ground, brought Little Homeworld to its knees. The residents of the school ran about, hollering orders and calling out for close friends and- for some gems- family. The glow from the fires cast everything in a pink light.

And Steven hated it.

_Ohhhh, he hated it._

Powering up, Steven aimed another deadly blast at the flames, hoping to fight fire with fire, to overpower the original scorching and put them out. Anything but the horrendous pink glow they cast on everything. Of course, that had the opposite effect, causing the inferno to only spread.

The draconic beast let out a frustrated roar, swiping a paw at the building entirely. His claws tore into its surface, and the large forge started to collapse. Gems leapt out the windows on the other side of the building, holding friends close for dear life as they took the leap of faith. Two gems near the top of the roof leapt down together, hand in hand, and accidentally fused on the way down.

Under normal circumstances, Steven would have loved that and have been so proud.

But right now, he didn’t care.

His tail whipped around, smashing apart a greenhouse that had recently been expanded. Glass shattered and shards flew everywhere, coating the ground. Their terrible, terrible reflective surfaces glared back, harsh and angry. Hot pink.

He heard voices. He could see gems waving flags. Some waved their arms. They wanted his attention? What, did they want him to help them sort out their problems, too? Why couldn’t they just _LEAVE HIM ALONE?!_

He roared, sending out a hot pink blast of fire from his jaws. It shot straight for them, and they only just managed to get out of the way in time. The blast exploded against the building they had been standing on the roof of, and they all cowered in fear.

However, one stood back up.

This gem should have looked familiar, if not for _the fact that she was tinted pink._ She waved her hands in the air, fearlessly trying to gain the wyrm’s attention again.

Alright. He’d humor her for a minute.

The creature got closer, tail twitching in anticipation. The darkness of his eyes made his diamond-shaped, pink pupils pop, and this gem took a step back. However, it wasn’t in fear. She was just giving him more space, ready to make a run for it if she had to.

Hmm. Smart.

“My Diamond, you are not yourself!” The gem shouted. Her voice was deep and hoarse, but very confident and strong. “You are letting your anger control you. You have to fight it!” She grit her teeth, very uncomfortable shouting the next part. “You have to be stronger than your anger!”

Steven’s eyes widened. He took a step back with one of his hind legs, then the opposite one up in front followed. He blinked, shocked. As the thought sunk in, though, he felt himself chuckling.

_Oh-ho, that was RICH._

He’d spent his ENTIRE LIFE being stronger than his anger, to not let it control him. And look where that got him! It had burst in a flaming pink explosion! No way was he going to do that again! This gem was NUTS if she thought that he would!

The monster before them seemed to be laughing, growling repeatedly in a steady tone. His tail twitched, his head hanging down closer to the ground before raising up, the beast throwing his head back.

Repress your anger.

That was probably the funniest thing he’d heard in a long, long time.

Stopping himself, he glowered at the gem. Jumping onto his hind legs, Steven let out a roar and brought his clawed paws down on her, bringing half the building to the ground.


	2. Despair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flashback to what caused Steven to corrupt to begin with.
> 
> (Again, this was written BEFORE Homeworld Bound aired! I still think it fits, but we didn’t get that “go do something useful with your life, Jasper” line.)

How had they let things get to be so bad?

One minute, Steven had been on the warp pad, fresh back from Homeworld, with a scared look in his eyes. The next, he had raced to the bathroom, locking the door behind him. Connie had accompanied the gems in running to him, to make sure he was okay, to calm him down, but it was too late. They heard him gasp, heard glass shatter, then the door flew open again. Steven stumbled out, one hand squeezing his opposing wrist while the other was balled up in his jacket pocket.

They tried to stop him, to get an answer as to what was going on. Garnet blocked him from going up the stairs to the warp, and everyone else crowded around. Even Jasper, who had only days ago been one of Steven’s enemies, had tried to deescalate the situation.

“Steven, we heard everything from before,” Pearl had said in a rush. “Tell us it isn’t true!”  
  


“Did you really… _shatter_ someone?”

Connie had reached out a hand towards him. His glowing pink skin wouldn’t go away, his hand held tightly in his pocket. His physical appearance had begun to shift, growing larger and… more manly. A _bad_ kind of manly. While one moment, Steven’s eyes were black, the next, they had become pink, and large. The pupil had been replaced with a white diamond-shaped one, and he looked nervous.

“Haha, w-what gave you that idea?”

“See, Steven? You’re doing it again.” Jasper stepped forward, putting a hand on the kid’s shoulder (rather aggressively). “You’re hiding it from your friends. Stop trying to protect them!”

“Back away from him, dude.” Amethyst had summoned her whip.

Pearl produced her spear as well, pointing it menacingly in the large quartz’s direction.

Jasper seemed surprised, but chuckled. “You guys are pointing those the wrong way,” she grinned. “It’s _him_ you need to be worried about.” She grabbed Steven and pulled him around.

Suddenly acting as a human shield, the kid’s new diamond powers activated. A hexagonal wall appeared, and his arms came up, crossing in front of his face.

Everyone gasped.

Steven’s right hand had become a dark magenta color, claws protruding out the fingertips. The anatomy of the bones seemed to have shifted, too, into something more akin to a paw than a hand.

Upon realizing what he’d done, Steven quickly shoved his hand back in his pocket.

“S-Steven?” Greg took a step forward. “What was that…?”

“Oh, nothing! It’s nothing!”

“See? You’re doing it _AGAIN!”_ Jasper kneed him from behind, sending him barreling forward into his diamond wall. It popped as his and its bodies smacked the ground a few feet away. He hit the hardwood floor hard on his side, his arm starting to ache. Jasper ignored his groans of pain, stepping forward and meeting him eye-to-eye. “Are you just going to forget _EVERYTHING_ I just taught you?”

Steven looked around wildly. “Um, I-I just-“

“Stop _CARING_ about them! They’re holding you back! It was only after you shut them out that you unlocked your true power! Are you just going to _ignore_ that?!”

Garnet took a step forward. “Steven, what is she talking about,” she asked, her usual calm tone gone from her voice. Panic filled her instead.

Jasper lifted the boy up by his shirt, not giving him the chance to answer. “Your friends are holding you back! Are you going to let one measly accident turn you back to how you were before? Back when you were afraid? I thought you said you _liked_ getting your anger out!”

Tears brewed in Steven’s eyes. “No! Jasper, I-“

“Liar! I heard you loud and clear! Many times! You can’t pretend like it never happened, my Diamond!”

Steven kicked out his legs, trying to do anything that would allow him to escape.

“My… Diamond…?”

Steven froze. Glancing over Jasper’s shoulder, he could see the forms of his family huddled together. Pearl looked frozen in time, clinging to Garnet as though she might come undone at any time.

Jasper saw this sudden change. Disgusted, he dropped him to the ground and turned to the rest of the group. “Told you that you had those things pointing the wrong way.”

That was all anyone in the room needed to hear to confirm their fears; Steven had shattered Jasper. How he had brought her back was another story, but he still broke her. He had _killed_ her.

For once in her life, Connie was afraid of her best friend.

“That’s not true,” Steven coughed from the floor. His wide Diamond eyes betrayed all the fear hiding in there, all the guilt, but most importantly, a rage, silently festering. “I help people, I-I don’t hurt them!” He sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than them. “I’d never do that.”

The wild look in his eyes… Connie backed away. Subconsciously, but the action still happened.

And a terrified Steven saw it.

“Connie…?” His face fell as he met her eyes. She knew that, just like his, her eyes were betraying every emotion, and the two could read each other like books. He knew she was afraid. There was no point in trying to hide it.

A determined look replaced his look of betrayal. He got to his feet, using his new, larger form to shoulder his way to the stairs. “I gotta go,” he growled. “Stay here.”

It took a few seconds and a lot of looking around at each other before the group followed him, Connie up in front. They raced up the stairs after him, watching as he stomped his way through his room, out the door, and up to his greenhouse dome.

“Steven!” Connie called after him, running to catch his hand. “Steven, where-“

He jerked his hand violently from her grasp. “Leave me alone, Connie. All of you. Stop following me.”

He stepped onto the warp pad. “Don’t make me bring up a wall again.”

Connie reached out a hand for him, standing a few feet back. “Steven, please, we just-“

The pure anger in his eyes stopped her from finishing that thought.

The rest of the gems and Greg arrived just after. Garnet ignored his wanting glare and continued to get closer. “Steven, you’re corrupting. Come back here, we can-“

“NO! You can’t help me, and I don’t want your help! Get away from me!” He swatted a hand away. “All of you!”

There were a few seconds of awkward staring as Steven glared down the gems. The other party waited for him to do something, breath held in anticipation.

But nothing happened.

Steven’s angry glare turned down to the warp pad. He stomped on it, then again, and again, but still, nothing worked. It wouldn’t activate.

“St-Steven, where do you need to go? We can take you there!” Pearl took a few cautious steps forward. “Please, let me-“

“Get AWAY!”

Steven’s scream sent spider cracks through every window pane of the dome, the glass splintering and a few tiles falling out altogether. Glass sprinkled from the sky.

Steven realized what he did, and his form shrunk back to his usual appearance. “Oh no, oh no oh no…” He brought a magenta hand up to his head, accidentally scratched himself, and reeled back in terror. Red dripped down his hand, not a lot, but enough. Steven screamed.

Connie couldn’t hold herself back anymore. She ran forward, flinging her arms around his shoulders. “Steven! Calm down! We just want to help you!”

In an instant, Steven’s anger returned. He shoved her off with his uncorrupted hand, backing away. “Get AWAY FROM ME! I’M DANGEROUS!”

His other hand now also had splotches of magenta dotting its surface.

The gems closed in, hoping to get on the warp pad with him so they could take him away- anywhere but here. Homeworld, perhaps? It didn’t matter, so long as they got the kid out of this cursed dome.

Steven took one look at them advancing, and scowled.

“Don’t you all get it? I’m dangerous. I’m a _shatterer._ I hurt others. I… I’m a monster!” He jerked forward towards them, trying so hard not to cry. He could feel his entire body shifting and changing beneath him. “You need to get away from me. Before I hurt one of you. _NOW.”_

But none of them moved.

_Well then, I might as well be one._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ngl, Jasper is a really difficult character to write. And so is Steven. I mean, little Steeb and pre-Mr. Universe Steeb were easier, but I’m running out of ways to empathize with him enough to really get a grip on who he is anymore.
> 
> Which is a terrifying concept considering I’m like Steven; I empathize with people. That’s how I can understand them and be better friends with them. Just the fact alone that I’m struggling to do that... I’m scared, man. I ain’t completely lost yet, but I’m scared.
> 
> Anyways. Hope y’all enjoyed!


	3. Animosity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We catch up with some old friends.
> 
> (Back to the present, y’all!)

Bismuth pushed a rock off of her, finally getting to stand. Her leg hurt, not so much that she’d poof, but enough to make her limp for a second while she tried to catch her footing under her again. Her rainbow hair spilled over her shoulders, dulled in color due to the dust and debris of the building.

They weren’t even rainbow anymore, not in this lighting. Now, one would take one look at her and think that she had very nice, light pink hair.

Just like everything else around her right now.

Her eyes caught sight of a light blue hand sticking up out of the pile of rubble to her right. Recognizing it, Bismuth ran to the rescue, shoveling boulders of building material out of the way as she dug Lapis Lazuli up out of the debris. The water gem had been almost knocked unconscious, but still held on for the time being. Her eyes slowly fluttered open as she looked to the usually-grey gem that had scooped her up.

“Bismuth…”

“Shhh, it’s alright, Lazuli. I’ve gotcha.”

The builder quickly shifted the terraformer’s weight onto one arm, and with the other, started to dig out Peridot. The resilient Era 2 gem didn’t poof easily, so she had to be around here somewhere…

A-ha! A green and yellow foot stuck out of some relatively shallow debris. Bismuth didn’t have to dig to pull her out.

Gasping and sputtering, the green gem came to much faster than Lapis had. “Bismuth?! What happened?! Did it work?”

“‘Fraid not,” the bigger gem sighed. “He’s still goin’ at it.”

All three gems turned to look at their lost friend. He had his back to them now, roaring and burning everything in his path. By now, the rest of the gems would have gotten out, but Bismuth couldn’t help feel a pang of sadness to see all her hard work evaporating into clouds of pink-tinted smoke like that.

When Peridot had gotten that distress call from Pearl earlier, she had thought that the pearl was joking. But after a few more seconds of the ex-servant explaining what had happened, Peridot’s grin fell. Then they all heard the stomping, and the roar accompanying it. They looked outside and, sure enough, a giant corrupted gem had appeared. Bismuth’s first reaction had been to poof her, but Peridot had freaked out. They couldn’t poof him. He was still half-organic.

That was Steven.

Bismuth hadn’t been able to recognize him under that veil of anger. His eyes burned bright, and when he started to attack the school, she had to fight the urge to poof him with everything she had.

“But that’s… impossible! Steven _helps_ people! He helped _me!_ That’s…” Lapis’ eyes darted around frantically. “That is NOT Steven!”

As if in response, the beast let out a blood-curdling roar.

“Steven or not, we gotta _do_ something!” Bismuth had picked up both of her friends and started heading up on top of the forge, hoping to get a more level view of the beast.

It was _huge._ Dark magenta covered its body, while silver crystalline spikes stuck up along its back. On its face were five more; one on top, one at each temple, and one more on either side of his mouth, resembling Earth-style tusks. The whites of his eyes had turned black, and in their place were glowing white pinpricks tinted pink. He walked on all fours, but none of the three gems noticed.

Looking closer at this beast’s face, they could see traces of Steven’s facial structior there. The shape of its head, the almost puffiness of its cheeks…

_What had happened to him?_

Bismuth had picked up a white sheet that had been drying nearby and started to wave it around. She had studied human history a little bit, wanting to catch up, and was familiar with their surrender traditions. If that thing really _was_ Steven, he should see their white flag and stop, right?

But he didn’t. As soon as Steven saw them, he fired a blast in their direction.

Part of the building got demolished, dust and ash exploding up in a cloud around them. The force knocked all the gems back, and Bismuth landed hard on the opposing rail.

She was injured, ready to poof, but held herself together. She was glad she did, else she never would have believed what happened next if someone had just told her.

_Jasper_ of all gems climbed to the roof, waving her arms. She shouted Steven’s name, fearless and strong.

_What in STARS was she doing?!_

Steven’s attention turned to her, and for a second, recognition flashed across his vision. Did he know who she was? He must’ve, as he stopped attacking for a minute to give her attention.

“My Diamond, you are not yourself!” Jasper shouted. “You are letting your anger control you. You have to fight it!” She looked ready to shout something else, but instantly regretted it. Something flashed across her face, and Bismuth realized that she was deciding something. She grit her teeth, looking down before meeting the beast’s eyes again. “You have to be stronger than your anger!”

Bismuth’s jaw had fallen open. Jasper… just said that.

Obviously Steven had a similar reaction. He stopped, eyes widened. He seemed to wince for a second, then his breathing increased. He growled, and it took Bismuth a couple of seconds to realize that he was _laughing._

Steven had lifted up a paw and brought it down on top of Jasper, bearing enough force to cut the building in half.

That had been enough for the roof to collapse, and she, Lapis, and Peridot fell to the ground.

That had been some time ago, seeing how much destruction had happened since then. Or maybe Steven was on an even bigger rampage than Bismuth had originally been aware of. Who knew at this point.

“Bismuth…” Lapis’ voice was small. She looked up into the bigger gem’s eyes, fear and worry crossing her every feature. “…What are we going to do?”

“I…” The builder looked to the ground, searching for something, _anything_ encouraging to say that wouldn’t be a lie of false hope. “I… don’t know. The Crystal Gems are on their way, if they ain’t here already. We just have to hold out for-“

An orange colored fist punched a rock away from underneath, sending the rubble sky-high. Jasper climbed her way out, eyeing the beast in a mix of fear and determination. Bismuth jumped to see her, and Lapis tensed in her arms. Peridot jumped higher than Bismuth had, as if she couldn’t believe her eyes.

“JASPER?! Wh-what are _you_ doing here?!”  
  


“Protecting my Diamond! What else?” She turned to scowl at the little technician. “That’s what you should be doing, too!”

“Wha-? Steven is _NOT_ our Diamond, nor does he want to be!” Lapis yelled back, pushing against Bismuth as a sign to put her down. Bismuth lessened her grip, and Lazuli leaped out, landing on two feet. She glared at Jasper. “What. Did you _DO?”_

“Tch. It’s not what _I’ve_ done. It’s what _he’s_ done.” Jasper turned back to the magenta monster that was getting further and further away. “He shattered me, then had the mercy to bring me back. I’m only doing my duty to him in return.”

She was about to start going after Steven again before she got barreled into, Bismuth’s body force knocking the orange gem down. They locked eyes, Bismuth scowling.

“Look, _Jasper,_ I don’t know what you’re pullin’ but it ain’t funny! Steven would _never_ shatter someone! I’d do that before he would, and I’ve learned not to! FROM him!”

Jasper chuckled. “Then you obviously don’t know him at all.” She looked over towards Steven, almost fondly. “He’s not holding back anymore. He’s finally free.”

Her form shuddered underneath Bismuth’s weight. It glitched, but Jasper barely seemed to noticed, her eyes were focused solely on Steven. There was a mixture of pride and fear there, and it took Bismuth a moment to see that there was also _regret_ written there as well.

_What in stars happened?!_

“He’s free from his burdens that all his friends put him under. No more stress, no more worrying about _their feelings._ He’s finally letting his true emotions show, and look at where that got him.” She gestured with a glitching arm to the beast that was about to round a corner, so close yet so far. “I did that. I got him to let go. I…” She smiled ruefully. “I _broke_ Steven Universe.”

Her gem. The gem on her face had a crack on it, and to Bismuth’s horror, the closer she looked at it, the more spider cracks she could see also running along the length of her gem.

_She had shattered. But Steven brought her back somehow._

_That HAD to mean something, didn’t it?_

Bismuth blinked away tears. She grabbed Jasper’s shirt, then got off, lifting her up. To her surprise, Jasper didn’t fight back.

“Now you listen here, upper-crust,” Bismuth growled. “I don’t know what you had to say to Steven to push him that far, but what you’ve done… there’s no going back from it. He’s corrupted now, and it’s your fault, isn’t it? YOU CORRUPTED ONE OF THE DIAMONDS NEEDED TO _CURE CORRUPTION!!”_

Jasper just met her eye evenly. Verbally, she didn’t confirm nor deny, but her face said everything.

She felt guilty. For once in her life, Jasper felt guilt over her actions. She did blame herself.

After a moment (and a few more glitches), Jasper took in a breath. “Look. The only reason I feel anything for Steven is because he is my Diamond. Yes, I pushed him to the brink, but someone was going to at one point. He was already falling when I caught him. Homeworld is what broke him, after he already broke me.”

Bismuth glared, tears forming in her eyes. “Stop sayin’ that. This ain’t funny.”

Jasper’s yellow eyes met Bismuth’s black ones with equal, calm intensity. “I never said it was.”

And with that, the bigger gem poofed. Bismuth could only stare in shock as her gem dropped, luckily landing in her already-outstretched hand. If that fragile gem had dropped to the ground…

A roar sounded from not too far away. Bismuth looked intently at Jasper’s gem, eyes watering, before looking up to see the damage.

So they hadn’t been out for that long. Steven really was just on a rampage, what with the new damage everything had.

Peridot ran to Bismuth’s side, looking at the gem clutched in her hands. The green gem gasped as she saw the cracks, and the grey gem watched helplessly as Peridot took note of the smaller markings running along its surface. The gem had landed upside-down, showcasing the damage for all to see.

Lapis had no words. She could only stare at Steven in shock, wondering how that was the same boy that had freed her from the mirror and befriended her all those years ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Bismuth. Still can’t write Jasper. Peridot is Precious(TM). Lapis needs a hug.
> 
> I hope I was able to stay in character for everybody. This was only the 3rd SU fanfic I’ve written, and I’m dealing with a lot of “first”s while writing this. First time writing any of these characters here.
> 
> I take any critique! Let me know what I could be doing better!


	4. Perseverance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We follow 3 familiar faces as they run about the damage.

When the Crystal Gems arrived at the scene, they were shocked at the damage already done. Fires dotted the area, and gems poured out of buildings, some opting to leap from windows and risk the poof as opposed to running the stairs. Just that fact alone scared Pearl into a stun.

Jasper had run past them, diving into the fray as if running from her demons. Only issue with that analogy was the fact that she was running _towards_ the danger, not away.

This also shocked Pearl into a stun, more than before.

Garnet pulled them out of it, placing a hand on Connie’s and Greg’s shoulders. “We have to stop him before he hurts someone else,” she announced. “Get all the students out. We’ll worry about Steven afterwards.”

“Right,” Pearl and Connie said in unison. Connie drew her sword, ready to fight her way out if she had to, though Pearl could see her hands shaking. She was scared. They all were. Just the fact that she had even felt the need to produce her sword alone was telling.

Pearl wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

The gems ran forward, leaving a helpless Greg behind as the man began to pace, wondering how to help but not knowing how. Pearl could see the pain etched across his face as he realized that he had no way to help his son out of this. He was out of ideas, and no new ones were coming to his head.

She could relate to _that_ feeling.

The first thing Pearl did was leap into the greenhouse. Gems were crouched in the corners of the large room, clearly disturbed by the violence and frozen in place.

“All of you, quickly, move out!” Pearl yelled at them. “If you stay here, you’re more in danger than if you left. Hurry!”

A couple gems got the courage to stand and run, but a smaller gem- an Aquamarine- remained huddled in the corner. She whimpered in fear, looking around wildly at Pearl and the others leaving.

The beast roared outside, its crashing footsteps getting closer.

Pearl ran to the blue gem’s side, grabbing her by the hand and forcing her up. “Aquamarine, we don’t have time for this. Get out!”

The tone in Pearl’s voice finally motivated the gem to spread her pixie-shaped water wings and make a break for the exit, Pearl hot on her tail.

It was seconds after she had cleared the building did Steven crush it.

The glass littered the sidewalk, glaring harshly in the pink glow.

Pearl looked up, noting how much bigger and scary Steven had become. She fought tears, screaming at herself not to become emotional.

_That’s not my baby._

* * *

Connie sliced through a wall, her sword driving a deep hole in the drywall. It was the final slash she needed to make in order to cut open a route of escape for the many, many gems hiding in one of the main classrooms.

“There, your way is open,” she announced. “Now _GO!”_

The quartz’s didn’t need to be told twice. They pushed and shoved each other to get out, their forms squeezing through the hole.

Connie looked back at the large boulder-like piece of building material that had fallen flatly against the front door and windows of the building, cutting off their normal entry. A few smaller gems had ma gained to squeeze out from the hole in the bottom, but the quartzes had been trapped. Connie had to wriggle her way inside, nearly getting crushed herself in the process, and cut them a new escape on the opposite wall, allowing them access to the outside world once again.

All the other gems in the building had been evacuated, and so she took to the stairs, running up to the roof.

It shocked her how close Steven was now, when just a moment ago he had been on the other side of the campus. But now, she was in leaping distance from him, his large form a cruel shadow against the pink fires burning around him.

The same flames lapped at the edges of this building that Connie now realizes she was trapped on. Fire danced away underneath her on the stairs, cutting off her way down.

She had only come up here to get a view and see if she couldn’t figure out where the others were. Now, there was no telling how she would escape.

Well, there was one option.

Steven really wasn’t far away. The top of his head was close, one of his crystalline features close enough to the building to touch it, but he was facing away. It was her only chance.

Connie took a deep breath, backed up, sheathed her sword, and _ran._

The sprint gave her enough momentum that, when she jumped, she had more than enough clearance to land on Steven’s head. She did a barrel roll to bring herself out, and quickly made for one of his horns.

Steven felt her presence and let out a non-human growl. He shook his head, trying to knock her off, but it was too late. Connie had grabbed hold of the horn directly in the center of Steven’s head and was holding on for dear life.

The beast roared in frustration, trying to swat her off with a paw. She squatted down, getting low, to avoid it.

Steven roared again, shaking his head from side to side even harder.

Connie held on. “No, Steven, you can’t knock me off! Not again! I’m here for you, and I am _not letting go!”_

The girl heard her name being shouted from somewhere, but decided to let it go.

“I know you, Steven! I know you didn’t mean to hurt Jasper, and you don’t think you can trust us anymore! And I’m sorry! I should have been there to protect you! You have every right to be mad! But please, let us help you! You’re not a monster; you’re my best friends! And best friends stick together, no matter what! So try to knock me off all you want, Steven, but it isn’t gonna work!”

The beast growled and threw his head up violently. Connie held on tighter, refusing to let herself drop. Especially not after just saying she’d never leave.

“I get it! You’re hurt, you’re angry, and you know what? That’s okay! What’s not okay is keeping it to yourself, bottling it up like you did! Then, you don’t let us lessen the load for you! You think we’re going to let you get overwhelmed? We won’t, Steven! Now let us do what you’ve done nothing but do your entire life and _LET US HELP YOU!”_

The beast roared one more time, but then stopped. It seemed to be processing her words, calming for just a second.

“There, that’s it,” Connie spoke in a softer tone. “You can be done helping others for a while, okay? It’s our turn. I’m not going to let you drown, Jam Bud. Please. Let us in.”

There was a softer noise that escaped Steven’s mouth. Connie blinked. What was that, a murmur? A whimper? Steven’s knees went a bit more slack, and he tried again.

_“Mrrrrerrrrr….”_

He hissed in frustration.

Connie released his horn, kneeling down to pat his head. “Are you… trying to say something?”

Steven made a similar noise, confirming Connie’s hypothesis.

“I-It’s okay, Steven, you don’t have to say anything right now,” she offered, smiling softly. “You can wait until we fix you back up, okay?”

Steven growled (though it sounded less threatening this time), clearly not happy with the idea.

_“Mrrrrrssssssrrrrrrrraaaaa…”_

The swordswoman sat down, patting Steven’s head. “It’s okay, it’s okay now. We’ll find a way to reverse this, okay?”

_“Mmmm sssrrrrrraaaaa…”_

“Are…” Connie gasped. “Are you trying to apologize?!”

Steven whimpered, confirming her suspicions again.

Connie’s brows creased. “Oh, Steven, no. We’re sorry. We weren’t there when you needed us. And you weren’t thinking straight, it happens to everyone. You shouldn’t have to be sorry.”

Steven growled, this time much more threateningly.

“Hey, watch your tone, mister.” Connie crossed her arms. “Remember we’re here to help you, not hurt you.”

She smiled triumphantly as the large wyrm below her sighed, then laid down, giving her safe passage to the ground.

* * *

All Amethyst saw was a giant four-legged monster attacking her home. Her school. Her students. She heeded Garnet’s orders, getting all the citizens out, nearly getting crushed in the process, but she did it. All her students and friends had gotten out, and were now fleeing safely to the surrounding countryside.

All but three, that was.

Amethyst found them huddled together in front of what used to be the forge, the two smaller ones hugging the larger, who wasn’t returning their embrace. She could only stare into her hands, distress falling from her face in the form of tears.

Amethyst blinked uncomfortably. “Uh, is this a bad time, or…?”

Peridot whipped around, smiling in relief. “Amethyst! You’re okay!”

“Pfft, of course I’m okay, P-dot. You didn’t think a measly building and a few fires were gonna take _me_ down, didja?”

“Well, hypothetically speaking-“

“Peridot. I’m okay.” Amethyst smiled at the smaller gem, then turned her attention to the water gem and the builder beside her. “Uhh, what’s up with Bis and Lapis? They mourning the campus, too?”

Peridot’s smile fell. “No. They’re mourning Jasper.”

Amethyst’s face fell. “Oh no. Did she get shattered _again?!”_

“No no, not that!” Peridot waved her arms in the air frantically. “She just got cracked.”

“Let me see.” The quartz pushed past the Era 2 technician, approaching the small treasure Bismuth held in her hands. Sure enough, it was Jasper. The cracks she’d gotten from before were still there, outlines much more clearly in the light of a new crack on her gem.

Bismuth met Amethyst’s eyes. “She didn’t even fight back. She let me… I didn’t mean to do it.”

“You poofed her?”

“No! I mean, I guess? I didn’t mean to, I wasn’t holding her that tight!”

Amethyst shook her head. “Well, she’s cracked after she was already shattered. Maybe she poofed herself?”

Bismuth blinked, eyes turning back to the orange gem in her hands. “I guess… that could be it. I hope.”

Lapis turned to her friend next. “What’s the status on Steven?”

Amethyst shrugged back, but Lapis’ question was answered anyways as they heard a loud, frantic roar cut through the air.

At once, Lapis was in the air. “C’mon, guys, let’s go! We’re gonna help him like he helped us!”

The other three gems still on the ground nodded back, a new determination burning in each of them.

Amethyst shapeshifted into a helicopter, inviting Peridot and Bismuth to climb aboard. They were heavy, and fortunately, Lapis saw. She swooped by, offering Peridot a ride with her instead.

And they were off, listening to Steven’s roar become more frustrated as they approached, only to calm down once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CONNIECONNIECONNIECONNIE
> 
> Okay, so Steven is FAR from being healed. But that’s okay. Everyone will be there to help him.
> 
> Spoiler alert, I don’t have all this written. I hope I can get more done before Friday, but we’ll have to see. I’m working right now while I wasn’t last week, and so I’ve got less free time (sounds backwards rn, I know). But don’t worry! The story will be finished, I swear.
> 
> I won’t leave y’all hanging. :)


	5. Calm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Gems try to come up with a plan to help their friend.

Steven’s head was an absolute mess. Anyone who denied that was either being too hopeful or out of their mind. Trains of thought crashed into each other, colliding to form new ones. Any positive ones got _crushed,_ whereas the more negative ones- the stronger ones- carried on, raging a path that started to light their own fires as they went.

It was so noisy. Was his mind always like this? How had he ever lived like this?

Connie’s words had helped to calm some of it down, but he was still so _angry._ He wanted nothing more than to continue to scream and get everything out, but something told him, somewhere in his mind, that if he continued, he’d never stop. Or, he’d burn himself out trying.

Either option sounded like a dead end, and wasn’t that nice sounding, either.

So, he allowed himself to go back to hiding his anger. For her. Because what she said sounded so… hopeful. Even if he knew that she couldn’t help him. No one could. Not her, not the Gems, not Dad, not the Diamonds. No one. The only person who had even come close to making Steven feel better was Jasper, and everyone knew how well _that_ turned out.

He let himself surrender to her. If it came down to it, he could always just ignore her, but for now, he’d hear her out. Maybe she had a plan? And if she did, maybe it was worth trying? There was only one way to find out. So, in his enraged state, he forced himself to calm down enough to listen to her. Out of respect. Yeah, that was the word. Respect.

Connie slid off his head and ran in front of him, meeting his eyes. He expected her to look stung by the anger that still burned there, but to his surprise, she gave a small chuckle instead.

“Thanks, Steven,” she smiled. “I’m so proud of you.” She reached up and patted his nose.

Despite himself, the beast let out a noise not unlike a purr.

The swordswoman giggled. Steven hadn’t realized how much he’d missed that sound until just now.

“CONNIE WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Pearl landed besides the two. “GET AWAY FROM HIM!”

“No!” Connie turned to face her mentor, anger shining in her eyes. Red anger. Good anger. “He’s still in there! And I’m going to get him out!”

Pearl froze, then seemed to reevaluate the situation. Everything was calm. All except Steven giving her a hardcore glare, anyways. The beast grumbled to himself.

_Pearl. So impulsive when it comes to violence._

If he were human, he’d let out a string of “tsk”s.

Suddenly, he and Connie were surrounded by gems. Peridot and Lapis dropped from the sky, Amethyst touched down in the form of a helicopter with Bismuth, Garnet ran out of a nearby building, and Pearl took a step forward. There was an uneven semi-circle around him now.

Lapis seemed to be the first of the newcomers to realize what was going on. “…Steven? You in there?”

The beast looked away, unable to look at her when her eyes held so much pain.

“I guess that’s a ‘yes’,” Garnet commented from the other side of the gathering. She reached up to touch her visor, and it vanished in a shower of sparkles. Her newly-revealed three eyes were wide, watching, waiting for something to happen.

It was too quiet. Steven blinked, trying to understand why no one was saying anything.

_They’re afraid of you. They’re uncertain what you’re going to do. One wrong move and you’ll explode. Isn’t that right? Well, this is a wrong move right here, what they’re doing. What are you going to do? Obviously they don’t have a plan. Connie lied. Why don’t you-_

He felt Connie’s hand on his nose again. Looking down, he met her chocolate colored eyes. They were full of hope and pride, not a trace of fear to be seen. She smiled.

“Steven’s in there, and I promised to get him out. Together. We can do this.” She turned to the gems. “We have a few options from the way I see it. We either go back to Homeworld somehow, we call the Diamonds and bring them here, or we take him to Rose’s fountain. I don’t know how this can work without the Diamond’s help, so we need to get to them as fast as possible.”

Steven winced. He did not have good memories of them, especially not from recently.

Connie noticed. She rubbed her hand around in circles, comforting him. “It’s okay, Steven, I know you don’t really like them all that much. But, I’m sure they’d want to help if they knew what was going on with you, wouldn’t they?”

Steven’s eyes drifted to the side. _I guess?_

Connie smirked knowingly. “That’s what I thought.”

“But, how are we supposed to contact them?” Peridot flung her arms out wide. “The entire school- and therefore, all it’s communications equipment- is burning to the ground!”

Lapis and Bismuth recoiled away from the small gem as Steven gave her a hard glare. He growled at her, feeling the fire rise up in the back of his throat. Pink fire. _Bad_ fire.

“Eep!” Peridot ducked behind Bismuth, cowering in fear. The bigger gem, surprisingly, made no reaction to Peri’s movements other than just following her with her head. The builder blinked, then looked back up at Steven.

He was struggling not to stand up and do… something. Whatever it was, it wouldn’t be pretty.

“Peridot! Watch your tone!” Pearl chastised from her position next to Garnet. Softer, she said, “Steven’s been through enough already. He doesn’t need scolding right now.”

Steven rolled his massive eyes. _“Right now.”_ Thanks a lot, Pearl.

Lapis noticed. “Can you all be a little more respectful,” the terraformer snapped. “He’s right here, y’know.”

Pearl looked up at Steven guiltily. “Oh, r-right. Apologies.”

The beast kept his poker face.

“Soooooo, any of y’all actually have a _plan,_ orrrr…” Amethyst kicked the ground. “I mean, I wanna help as much as the next Gem, but the warp pad is down. We saw it as we flew over. Peri’s right; all other communications are down. What do we do?”

The group thought for a moment. “Are there any Ruby ships laying around,” Lapis asked. “We could use one of those to get there.”

“That would take us roughly a day and a half in those ships,” Peridot muttered, quickly doing the math.

“What about Steven’s warp? In his dome?”

“Down,” Pearl murmured, crossing her arms.

“Oh! I got it!” Bismuth snapped her fingers. “Steven’s got that telecommunicator in his room, don’t he? In the dome? That wasn’t destroyed, was it?”

Pearl perked up. “Stars, you’re right! That’s still there!”

“I’m on it!” Amethyst shapeshifted herself into a bird, although not her usual owl. Instead, she chose a hawk; one of the fastest birds of prey, Steven recalled. “Be back in a jiff!”

With that, the purple messenger shot into the sky and quickly vanished against the darkness.

The other gems waved up at her, some wishing her good speed, but after she was gone, the group fell into silence. There was awkward staring, and some gems wound up whistling or walking around randomly.

It was a lot like when the main NPC stopped talking to you in a video game and then when back to their business while you suddenly got free reign to get out and explore for yourself.

With that analogy, Steven felt himself as the PC- playable character- and stood up. The others stopped what they were doing, staring after him.

It would take the Diamonds a while to get here. And Steven was bored.

Ignoring their questions and inquiries, the wyrm picked himself up, turned around, and started to walk away, daring to explore the full damage he’d done, all the while seeing nothing but pink, pink, pink.

What an awful color. He’d put it everywhere for everyone to see.

He suddenly felt more guilty about that than anything else he’d done so far.

No one should have to deal with this much pink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAHA! I got one more chapter done before bed! Woot! 
> 
> Anyways. Enjoy, y’all!
> 
> Also I think I accidentally made pink more symbolic than I originally intended. Whoops. 👀

**Author's Note:**

> Sudden end, eh?
> 
> Well, I originally wanted to do this all as one, giant one-shot, but I decided against it and went with uploading one chunk at a time. There were supposed to be astericks here separating the two chapters.
> 
> If you don’t see the Next Chapter —> option, reload the page! It should be up (along with at least one other) by now!
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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